The Longer (but way more fun!) Stuff:

*This excerpt taken from an interview with Chatgpt, (aka with myself ) :)

If your writing desk could talk, what would it say about your habits?

Well, first it would say, “get your feet off of me!” Because I love to kick back in my chair with my feet up on my desk while I write. The next thing my poor desk might tell you is that I am a chronic sticky-note user (sorry, Desk, for the messy notes I leave all over you!), and that I am mildly addicted to writing utensils, evidenced by the five jars of highlighters, pens, markers, pencils etc. lining the edge of my desk.

What are you working on next or dream about writing someday?

            You can see my WIPS here.

The very first books I ever read on my own were historical fiction (shout out to the American Girl, Samantha books!) so that genre holds a special place in my reading heart, and since I’ve lived in Hawaii for the past decade+ I would love to write a historical fiction novel set in Hawaii. Most Americans know so little about this unique state and there are so many cool things to know! Like the illegal overthrow of the last reigning Hawaiian monarch, Queen Lili’oukanlani. That piece of history is tragic and especially poignant. Far too few Americans know the history.

What’s one thing readers might be surprised to learn about you?

            I’m a pretty boring person, to be honest, but I guess I shouldn’t say that here. :) People might be surprised to know that I didn’t learn to read until I was about thirteen years old. Yikes! I know. That’s a long story for another time. But once I did learn, I read everything I could get my little education-hungry eyes on, and for this reason, I almost never go anywhere without a book…after all, you never know when you’ll have a few minutes to read.

What books or authors have shaped your writing the most?

            Oh gosh! There are so many. David Sedaris, George Saunders, Jennifer Nielsen, Kate DiCamillo, Gary Schmidt, Flannery O’Connor, Brian Doyle, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, William Carlos Williams, John Steinbeck, Celeste Ng, and so many others! And the people who shape my writing the most are my friends and family who read and critique for me. Especially my writer friends at EatSleepWrite, my weekly critique group.

Which fictional character would you absolutely not want to be stuck in an elevator with — and why?

Well, I am really claustrophobic so the idea of being stuck in an elevator at all makes me feel a little short of breath. In fact, one time my husband and I were traveling in Boston and the building we were staying on the fourth floor of had an elevator so small he could reach his hands out and touch it wall to wall. I’ll just say I climbed a lot of stairs that trip! But back to the question, I think I have to steal my daughter’s answer and say Jabba the Hutt. Imagine that. *Shiver*

What first inspired you to start writing?

            As I mentioned before, my childhood education was severely lacking so once I learned to read, I read everything that I could get ahold of. For me, writing followed naturally from reading. My brain sort of runs a million miles an hour all the time, so to help me concentrate in meetings or classes, I take notes, and tbh, sometimes those ‘notes’ morph into stories or essays. I guess my note-taking doesn’t always help my focus on my meeting or class, but I get some great ideas that way. Writing seems to just happen for me.

What’s your most questionable writing ritual — the one you’d only admit in an interview like this?

Snacking. My advice is, don’t do it! Even if it gets the ideas flowing, (and it does!) don’t do it. It’s a nasty habit because my fingers get all sticky/gooey/crumby depending on what I’m eating (lately I’ve been on a Dill Pickle potato chip binge) and so my keyboard is always a mess.

If your muse had a theme song, what would it be?

            A better question for me might be who/what is my muse? The answer is, I have no idea! :) But music definitely can inspire my writing. When I’m digging into a new character and trying to find their voice, I like to make playlists of the music they would like. And if I had to choose one song that inspires my writing lately, it would be ‘My Life’ by Billy Joel. This song was there for me at a point in my life when I was making some critical choices and reminds me that no matter where my writing career goes, (or doesn’t) writing and stories are always home for me.

What do you hope readers feel when they finish one of your books?

I’m not sure I could choose a particular feeling. It would probably depend on the book. But I can say I hope my readers will be changed in some way. I think one of the most important and powerful elements of fiction is its ability to break down barriers of bias and defensiveness in readers and allow a safe space to foster understanding and empathy. I hope that my readers will take some new understanding of themselves or another group of people from my writing. And also, I hope they just enjoy the story. That they can close my book and feel glad they read it. That would feel pretty cool!

What’s one thing you’ve learned about yourself through writing that you never expected?

            That everything I write is a metaphor for my life, well, maybe metaphor is too strong a word, but I am always surprised when I finish a project to see so much of myself, my life experiences, my beliefs are woven into the storylines and characters. I always think going in, that I am imagining everything. 100% made up, but it turns out there’s no such thing. In some way, nearly everything I write can be connected to my life. It’s pretty wild! So maybe I’m not quite as boring as I thought.

*Photo by Bonnie Torres